The Weather Front On-Line

Across the Corn Belt, a few isolated showers and thunderstorms dot the eastern half of the region. Elsewhere, sunny skies and increasingly warm conditions are accelerating final planting efforts and crop development.

Across the Corn Belt, generally cool, dry weather prevails, although rain is overspreading portions of the upper Midwest. Corn and soybeans benefited from late-May and early-June warmth, before the recent turn toward cooler weather.

Across the Corn Belt, mild, dry weather is promoting winter wheat maturation, summer crop growth, and late-season planting efforts. Despite a late start to the planting season in the northern Corn Belt, crop developmental delays are relatively minor due to late-May and early-June warmth.

Across the Corn Belt, dry weather between rain events favors soybean and late-season corn planting, although thunderstorms are starting to erupt in westernmost production areas. During the week ending June 1, producers planted at least 30% of the intended soybean acreage in Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

Across the Corn Belt, dry weather is promoting a rapid fieldwork pace, although chilly conditions in the lower Great Lakes region contrast with sudden warmth in the upper Midwest. On May 18, corn planting was at least 25 percentage points behind the 5-year average pace in North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

Across the Corn Belt, unusually cold weather prevails. Rain showers accompany the chill in parts of the central Corn Belt. Freeze Warnings were in effect early Friday in parts of the upper Midwest, including the eastern Dakotas and northeastern Nebraska. Frost Advisories cover portions of Wisconsin, Lower Michigan, and western sections of Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri.

Across the Corn Belt, Freeze Warnings were in effect early Wednesday in much of the Dakotas, Nebraska, western Minnesota, and northwestern Iowa. However, fieldwork has been substantially delayed in the upper Midwest due to cool, wet conditions, leaving only a few fields of corn, soybeans, and spring wheat that have emerged.

Across the Corn Belt, a band of rain showers—in the vicinity of a cold front—stretches southwestward from Michigan. The front separates warmth in the eastern Corn Belt from unusually cool conditions farther west. Corn and soybean planting activities continue at a rapid pace in the eastern Corn Belt.

Across the Corn Belt, previously open weather for corn and soybean planting has been replaced by widespread showers and thunderstorms. Warmth lingers in the eastern Corn Belt, but sharply colder air is arriving west of the Mississippi River. Soils remain too cool and wet in much of the upper Midwest for appreciable fieldwork.